June 09, 2010

Kamala Harris Trounces Chris Kelly in AG Primary

In the end, a crowded field of candidates, low voter turnout and $12.5 million could not beat Kamala Harris.

Flanked by her family, including brother-in-law and U.S. Assistant Attorney General Tony West, Harris declared victory Tuesday night in the Democratic attorney general primary.

“We have a lot of good work ahead of us,” Harris told a cheering crowd at the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco. “Let’s celebrate tonight.”

Though May polls of likely voters suggested Harris’ support had stalled, the San Francisco district attorney was leading in 45 of 58 California counties, including vote-rich Los Angeles. She trounced former Facebook executive Chris Kelly in the Bay Area, even taking Kelly’s home county of San Mateo with 46 percent of the vote.

With just under half of the state’s precincts reporting, Harris was leading Kelly 33 percent to 17 percent.

Kelly, who funded his campaign with more than $12 million of his own money, was not ready to concede late Tuesday, still hoping that late returns in Los Angeles –- a market where he had advertised heavily –- would boost his numbers.

He said it was “strange” that Harris’ much-publicized troubles with San Francisco’s crime lab and law enforcement witnesses hadn’t hurt her more with voters. And he called Harris’ attacks on his Facebook tenure as inaccurate and “weird.”

“I feel pretty good,” he said from outside his campaign party in San Jose. “With just 15 percent of the precincts reporting we have over 100,000 votes. That’s success.”

Harris will face off in November against Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, who was handily defeating two challengers in the Republican primary with 48.6 percent of the vote.

Cooley, who entered the primary relatively late, proved himself to be a proficient fundraiser. And his ability as a Republican to win heavily Democratic Los Angeles County makes him a real threat to put the attorney general’s office under Republican control for the first time in 12 years.

Comments

Kamala Harris could bolster her position in Los Angeles County and ability to beat Cooley there by highlighting that his office did not represent all the people of that county. Concisely, in L.A. County Superior Court case No. VA071021, People v. Carl Brown, Cooley allowed his deputies to prosecute the defendant with the fabricated evidence and perjured testimony of a lone witness. This after being made aware, and directed by the U.S. District Court, Central Dist. (in 2008), that his witness's evidence was completely false and that a jury had to be made aware of the wrong actions of his witness. Thus, there have been two trials in the matter already (2003 and 2008), and currently, his office is going forward with a third. Meanwhile, he has yet to charge his witness with the crimes associated with the false evidence he presented in court. (What's at work there? D.A. complicity?)

Anyway, that is not representing all the people. Because when you represent all the people you seek justice not convictions. So, the question is: How many more People v. Brown cases are out there? I suggest Miss Harris throw out the bait and begin fishing. My belief is that there are probably quite a few such cases like Brown that were handled by Cooley's office. You can learn just how shameful a case Brown is by referencing Court of Appeal, 2nd Appellate District, Case No. B211202 and/or contacting Brown's attorney Jeff Price @ 310-776-8650.